The preliminary hearing and validation of the detention, before the investigating judge (GIP), of Ridha Rahmouni, the 26-year-old Tunisian who confessed to killing and burning journalist Luigi 'Luca' Esposito from Salerno — while he was still alive — on 19 July on a piece of agricultural land in the Cioffi district of Eboli (Salerno), are scheduled for Monday at Salerno prison. The young man, who is in Italy without a residence permit and with no fixed abode, and who is subject to a repatriation order, could — if he agrees to speak — offer his contribution, albeit partial, to shed light on a case that still presents too many unanswered questions.
According to what has emerged so far, the meeting between Esposito and his self-confessed killer would have been a planned encounter, not perceived by the victim as potentially dangerous, in an isolated area. The two had known each other for about a month, as confirmed by mobile phone cell data showing their phones connected to the same tower on the evening of the murder, as well as phone contacts in the preceding days. That evening, during a conversation with a colleague, Esposito had appeared calm.
He did not seem frightened or preoccupied. He therefore appears to have gone to the meeting with his killer without any form of coercion. Identifying the perpetrator proved complex, as he was hiding in a farmhouse that was difficult to reach, although not far from the scene of the crime. Several elements reportedly incriminated the Tunisian: a fingerprint on the boot of Esposito's car, and a number of items found in his possession at the farmhouse belonging to the 53-year-old: a mobile phone, a white gold ring, and a prepaid card. Contact between the two phone numbers intensified in a particularly significant manner during the evening of 18 July and in the early hours of 19 July, that is, in the period immediately preceding and concurrent with the commission of the crime. Even those who were close friends or collaborators, and the victim's own family members, were unaware of the people Esposito was associating with.
No one, for example, had ever directly met the woman named "Simona" whom he occasionally referred to as his wife or partner. This is one of the many mysteries surrounding his life, as is the alleged activity for ARPAC — the Regional Environmental Protection Agency — which firmly denied that he was ever an employee, and the non-existent job at the Regional government. What triggered the murderous rage of the man, also known by the alias Amed Jamal, represents an element of the motive that investigators are keeping under wraps. What is certain is that Esposito was the victim of brutal violence: he was savagely beaten and then set on fire while still alive. When the Tunisian was arrested and questioned, according to information from legal sources, he reportedly proved very cooperative. With the help of an interpreter, he calmly gave a confession of what had happened. During the interrogation, the young Ridha Rahmouni reportedly explained that he had also acted for reasons of a 'religious' nature. Islam forbids any relationship outside of marriage. This is his version of events, while investigators are revealing nothing about the motive, which they describe as being of a private and personal nature.
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